Tuesday, August 24, 2010

RE: The neocolonial path to power

August 25, 2010

Mr Govind Das Shrestha

Kathmandu

Dear Govind Das jee

I am in absolute agreement with you that most of the so called hydropower experts of Nepal plan for benefit to India rather than Nepal. Examples are planning to export hydropower at dirt cheap rate and planning to import at around Rs 10.72 in the name of mitigating electricity crisis in Nepal. Higher level of treason against Nepal is development of storage projects for (1) export of peak-in energy at dirt cheap rate and (2) surrendering augmented/regulated flow without getting any recompense for submergence of land in Nepal and displacement of local populace.

There is also plenty of disinformation campaign going on in the name of Nepal to be “Oil-Sheik” as you have appropriately put it. I have come to learn that even Susan Goldmark (World Bank Res Rep) has parroted this line but I have yet to locate its evidence in order for me to contradict her (I will do so at first available opportunity). What these people forget that host government share of oil revenue is very high while Nepal gets only Rs 100/kW as capacity royalty and 2% energy royalty (the cumulative total is less than 2.5%) but the share of Norway, for example, is about 80% of the revenue from oil export. I wonder when our intelligentsia will learn to speak only after checking the ground realities! Maybe, as you have put it, their agenda is to benefit India at the cost of Nepal (I don’t want to believe it, though).

Thanks. I have always liked Deepak’s writing on water issues. I always enjoy reading your thought-provoking real life comments and insights. I could not agree more. Nepal is hydro-power poor because of “poverty of ideas”. The water bureaucrats in Nepal always want Nepal to be “Oil-Sheik” without knowing what it means and costs to develop the resource. Sometimes I think some people enjoy planning for the good and benefit of India. They do not realize that the dream of large scale export of hydro-power in Nepal is a mirage.

Development priority in Nepal has gone haywire. We always seem to plan for India. I have always strongly believed that there is no short cut to developing our domestic capacity. If we can pass a strong message across the border that we are bent to develop the resources on our strength, India will come to terms. Then we can think of export. Our bureaucrats must understand that “first consume, develop our economy and then export, if surplus is available”.